Three individuals found guilty on Wednesday of illegal exportation of cocaine through the Jamaica Postal Service are to be sentenced on September 29.

They are Yasheka James, Leroy Adamson and Ashane Bennett.

Three individuals found guilty on Wednesday of illegal exportation of cocaine through the Jamaican postal service are to be sentenced on September 29.

They are Yasheka James, Leroy Adamson and Ashane Bennett.

The three were convicted before senior parish judge at the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court Paula Blake Powell, following a detailed investigation led by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA).

The convictions include two counts of conspiracy to export cocaine, two counts of taking steps preparatory to export cocaine, two counts of attempting to export cocaine and four counts of using the postal service for drugs.

The charges stem from incidents occurring on June 8 and 9, 2020 when Adamson and James allegedly conspired to export cocaine via the Mandeville post office and James and Bennett allegedly repeated the scheme at the Santa Cruz Post Office in St. Elizabeth. 

In both instances, packages containing the illicit substance were mailed to overseas addresses.

According to Director of Communications at MOCA, Major Basil Jarrett, agents staged an operation at the central sorting office in Kingston and intercepted the suspicious parcels. 

A subsequent forensic analysis by the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine confirmed that both packages contained cocaine.

Major Jarrett said this conviction highlights the increasing sophistication of criminal networks and underscores the critical role of inter-agency collaboration in dismantling drug trafficking operations.

He said it also sends a clear message that exploiting public infrastructure for criminal gain will be met with the full force of the law.